Fixing A Broken Compass

Teacher Meetings and Study Sessions

"Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life believing that it is stupid."

It was hard to imagine a time frame when he wasn't exhausted. Every moment, he felt his eyes drag; his left eye, in particular, was throbbing, and there was a dull ache in the back of his head.

Truthfully, he wasn't sure how much Tylenol and Red Bull he had taken over the evening. All he knew was that it didn't seem to affect him anymore.

Every part of him felt sluggish.

But he had eight hours to get through.

Just eight hours.

Except that's what his mantra had started to become every day, and honestly, he was beginning to wonder when he wouldn't have to be silently wishing for himself.

If he was being completely honest, his whole morning went by in a blur right up until the time he normally met with Ms. Jane. His aid, who lacked better words, was anything but helpful.

Instead of meeting her in the library for their one-on-one session, he was meeting with Mr. Axel Toma to go over his IEP. That in itself gave him a headache his stomach twisted at the thought of meeting.

Unfortunately, he had to put on his big boy pants and do it. He longed for the days he left these meetings for his parents to have.

Still, he let his feet drag a little after the bell rang, and then he returned to the science wing.

The door was closed, so he opened it awkwardly, tipping his head in to make sure Mr. Toma was in there. Part of him hoped the other man wasn't. He hated this.

To his utter surprise, Mr. Toma wasn't alone in the room. Sitting beside him, looking perfect as ever, was Mr.Blackbird. Mr. Toma looked a little more casual sitting beside the man beside him.

He was wearing a light green dress shirt and dark dress pants. Compared to most of the teachers in this school, he was already overly dressed. Mr. Blackbird took it to a whole new level. His dark grey suit had the most perfect tie, matching it. Not a crinkle in sight or a hair out of place.

It made him feel slightly self-conscious in his own outfit. His white hair was a little more mused today because he was constantly running his fingers through it. His roots were coming in, and he was annoyed at how quickly that seemed to be happening.

The one thing he always tried to take time for in the morning was how he dressed himself. Today, he was wearing a pair of black pants, a white beater shirt, and a baby blue long-sleeve dress shirt; he left the shirt undone and paired it with his Adidas sneakers.

He had on his usual set of necklaces and rings, yet he felt utterly lacking compared to his attractive teachers.

"Hi," he eyed Mr. Blackbird, whose eyes were sweeping over him curiously. Both men stood as he entered the room, making him feel small. He had height on him, and both men easily towered over him.

They moved from the desk to one of the lab tables. Both had papers and pens in hand. Miles shifted awkwardly, moving towards the table himself. He set his backpack down and took a sip of his coffee, which was almost empty.

"Hi Miles, you remember Mr. Blackbourne," Mr. Toma waved a hand to the man sitting beside him.

Blackbourne. That's right.

Blackbird had a nice ring to it.

"He's helping with the counseling at the school he'll be joining our meeting if that's alright."